Yesterday's Child
by shield-maiden
Summary: After the destruction of the Hydra base X23 contemplates how she feels different from before and decides to go back to the source of the change, the Xmansion.
1. Epilogue Prologue Thing

Disclaimer: I don't own X-23 or any other characters affiliated with Marvel because if I did it would be me making the money off of the comic franchises and not them.  
  
I've done it! I've started another X-23 story, this one shall be multi- chaptorial (I made up that word, like it?). This takes place right after "Target X", ya know, the second episode with X-23. Well, enjoy.  
  
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They thought she was dead; all of them, every last one of them. And that was what she wanted, for everyone to stop hunting her, to have the freedom to go and do what she wanted. She knew they thought she was dead because no one had come looking for her. Wolverine's scent had long since left her nostrils, leaving only pine needles and tree sap to contend with.  
  
X-23 looked about her for what seemed like the hundredth time. She didn't know why she looked around anymore, nothing changed. There was just trees, trees, and more trees. Anything that posed a threat she would smell long before she saw it. God, the forest was empty; and she felt alone. X-23 stopped in her tracks. She never felt alone, never felt anything but anger and resentment...and sadness, she thought to herself, sadness which she had never felt before until she had met Wolverine. That's what was different.  
  
"Wolverine, that's what's missing." She had trekked all the way through these woods with him grumbling from behind and as she complained from up front; that's what was giving her the feeling of loneliness. "I'm getting soft," she told herself. "I haven't even been out of the Hydra lab that long and I'm falling apart." She quickly shut her mouth. What was she doing? Talking to herself, but why? She had been trained out of that habit years ago. It had to be the strange feeling that had been creeping over her since she realized she was totally and utterly alone. What was it? She sniffed the air around her...fear. She had long put away that childish feeling and here it was come back from the grave.  
  
She groaned, grasping her head in her hands, "What's wrong with me," she yelled. She looked up, an idea hitting her. Wolverine, it was all his fault, it had to be. She didn't feel these things, at least she didn't until she had broken down and cried like the small child she certainly was not. All her problems were his fault. The only way to get rid of them would be to confront him again; find out what had happened at the mansion that had changed her, because the way she was acting now definitely wasn't natural. She would have to go back to that horrible mansion where this all started.  
  
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That's it for this chapter. The next one will be on its way shortly...I  
hope. How'd'ya like It so far? Good? Bad? Ugly? Well, maybe not ugly, but malnourished possibly. Okay, fine, ugly and malnourished don't really describe a fic properly. Anywhoo, this epilogue is finished...at least I think it's an epilogue, maybe I got my words screwed up. I'll shut up now. 


	2. A mattress is softer than a bed of leave...

Disclaimer: I do not, nor have I ever owned X-men Evolution and its affiliated characters. I wish I did though, as I would be able to then do anything I wanted with them without fear of copyright infringement.  
  
******************************************************************** X-23 looked up at the huge building that the people inside called home. She would soon live there too, for how long was another question altogether. She shook off the chill she was feeling, not from the fact that the building simply loomed over her but because sometime during the night the damp air had given way to showers, leaving her quite wet and cold. Nevertheless she refused to shade and shiver in front of whomever might open the door. After all, shaking because you were cold was a sign of weakness.  
  
The girl took a deep breath before pressing her finger to the doorbell. She heard the noise reverberate through the house and waited. How late was it? She had never thought of what would happen if she woke them up. Would they be angry at her? X-23 began to shuffle her feet before she heard footsteps from inside and stopped immediately.  
  
The door opened to reveal the tall, white-haired African woman she had used a disk on during her last "visit". Looking at the soft, fluffy robe and her disheveled hair X-23 guessed she had woken her up. The woman's eye-brows lifted as she took in X-23's wet state. "Well, come inside. We can't have you standing all night out in the rain." X-23 couldn't believe that the woman had not attacked her on the spot. After all, she had done so to the woman the last time they met.  
  
She was lead into a large foyer which she had barely taken a second glance at before and took the time for a better look. It was huge. She couldn't imagine why anyone would want a ceiling that high if they were just going to sand on the ground. She stopped herself and, putting on her game face, looked at the woman. "I need to see Professor Xavier."  
  
"First let's get you out of those wet clothes."  
  
"I'm not cold, if that's what you're thinking."  
  
"If you really feel that you must see the Professor this instant, fine. But if you're staying the night you will change into some clean clothes. Pajamas preferably since it's not yet time to be up and about."  
  
"Fine."  
  
"This way." The woman lead her up the stairs and down a hallway, stopping before a large oak door. "He's waiting for you inside," she reassured.  
  
X-23 once again calmed herself before opening the door and walking inside. It wasn't a bedroom as she had expected, but instead a small study with a desk in one corner and bookshelves lining the walls. The professor sat in the middle of the room looking her over. "Didn't Ororo offer you some dry clothes?"  
  
"She tried. I told her they could wait."  
  
"What is it that's so important that you couldn't take the time to dry yourself off?" He handed her a towel that had been setting behind the desk. "I figured you might have been impatient," he explained. She took the towel, feeling it with her wet, wrinkled fingers before using it to dry herself off. "You want to tell me what this is about?"  
  
"I need to know what you did to me when I was last here."  
  
"I assure you we did nothing to you."  
  
"Liar," she yelled. "If you did nothing to me why am I so confused? Why do I cry and feel alone or afraid. I was never like this until I came here to chase down Wolverine."  
  
"Perhaps it's simply that you're getting older, seeing things in a different way. It's a little late for a biology lesson but I'm sure Ororo would be only too happy to fill you in. As for your own personal reasons as to why you feel the way you do you'll have to find out for yourself. But you're welcome to stay here as long as you like while you're figuring things out." She nodded. "Now, I'm sure Ororo has found you something not so wet for you to wear and a bed to sleep in. She's waiting for you in the hall. Tomorrow we can talk some more and you can meet the Institute's other residents."  
  
"Wait."  
  
"Yes," he asked.  
  
"Why are you being so nice to me? I mean, if I were you I would have attacked me on the spot."  
  
"Wolverine explained your situation to us. And I can read your thoughts, you're projecting them quite vividly you know, and they tell me you're not here for a fight." X-23 just nodded. "If that's all for now, good night, I'll see you in the morning." She forced herself to smile in return, a gesture she had often seen used as a way of reacting to something in a positive fashion without saying a word. It felt awkward on her face; foreign and not the least bit natural.  
  
Ororo was, in fact, waiting for her outside the door, leaning against the wall, not really alert, just serene. X-23 only got to study her for a second before the woman stood up of her own accord and handed her a small pile of clothing. "Pajamas," she told her. "And some clothing for tomorrow. You'll have a room to yourself unless its absolutely necessary to place you with someone."  
  
"You're afraid I'll hurt them."  
  
Ororo watched her for a moment, appraising, before saying, "I just thought you'd be more comfortable if you were by yourself. If you'd prefer a roommate we can place you with one." She started on her way back down the hall, taking a left turn down another corridor. "The bathroom is here if you'd like a shower, towels are in the cupboard and..." passing another two doors," here is your room." She opened the door to reveal a medium sized room with a bed, dresser and closet."  
  
"This is mine?"  
  
"Yes. Don't seem so shocked. This isn't a prison you know." X-23 nodded. "Well, if that's all, goodnight."  
  
"Goodnight," she replied, still gaping at the room. It looked like all those rooms she had seen before but knew she could never have. Spring green curtains covered the tall windows that she discovered lead out onto a balcony. The bed was soft, a flowered green comforter to match the drapes lay across it. A door, which she realized was not the one she came in through opened up to a closet. On the inside of the door hung a mirror. X- 23 gaped at herself. She was a mess. Not that it bothered her because she looked bad but a small part of her wished she could have looked half as together as Ororo had waking from a sound sleep.  
  
Thinking about this she closed the closet door and walked down the hallway toward the bathroom. It would be nice to take a shower before changing into the soft pajamas Ororo had given her.  
  
The water was warm and wonderfully relaxing as it beat down on her tan skin, washing away the sweat and grime from her journey. The lavender soap smelled wonderful and she even went so far as to shampoo and condition her hair. She didn't really want to leave the warm safety of the shower until she realized that her hands were once again prune-like.  
  
X-23 gave a slight shiver as the cool air his her moistened skin but the pajamas soon warmed her up as she headed for the soft bed that had been given to her. She barely remembered her head hitting the pillow the next morning, the blankets enveloping her as she dozed.  
  
*********************************************************************** That's it for now. Let me know what you think. As for those of you who reviewed my last chapter thanks bunches. 


	3. smells like chicken

Disclaimer: No, I don't own x-men, their affiliated characters or Six Flags Great America...not that that has anything to do with the story but it gives you a perspective on how much I actually do own, which is not much.  
  
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X-23 opened her eyes as sunlight peeked through the curtains. She propped herself up into a sitting position. Was she supposed to be somewhere? Thinking about it for a second she flopped back down, unwilling to leave the comfort of the fluffy blankets. Ignoring the cries of hunger from her growling stomach she once again closed her eyes.  
  
A click at the door caused her to bolt upright, the "snikt" of her claws piercing the air. "It's just me," a woman's voice told her, poking her head into the room. "I thought you might be up," Ororo continued, "so I made breakfast for you. Its downstairs if you want it. If not the others will soon be up to eat it themselves. So, do you want it?" X-23 nodded. "Then I'll wait for you in the hall."  
  
The clothes themselves fit alright, a little large but what did that matter? The belt provided kept the pants from falling off her hips and the shirt didn't have to fit exactly right. X-23 stole a look at herself in the mirror. The purplish jeans and gray shirt went well with her tanned skin and brown hair. Speaking of hair it still seemed to be at least half a mess but at least it no longer had pinecones and leaf pieces in it.  
  
She walked out into the hall and looked up at the tall, white-haired woman. She herself might as well never become a woman. She would never get any taller since the adamantium had been grafted to her bones, even if they hadn't her genetic donor, Wolverine, was no giant himself. Besides that any physical signs of maturity could take forever to make themselves known. Surely she wouldn't be getting white hair for another couple hundred years. Thinking of this she sighed.  
  
"Don't worry, you look fine," Ororo told her running her fingers through X- 23's hair, causing the girl to jerk away. "This way to the kitchen," Ororo guided. The smell alone of bacon and eggs could have led her through the house. She sat down to a large breakfast table, plates set all around. Stupidly she chose a seat from which she could gaze out the window, leaving her back to the door. She wondered if she should move when she heard the creak of the door open and close. Her muscles tensed as the intruder stepped closer and closer. "Decided its warm enough out today to forget the jacket, Amara," a boy's voice asked. Reflexes took over as she felt the pressure of his hand on her shoulder. She grabbed the boy's arm and quickly flipped him to the ground. Her foot was placed on his chest as a blade shot out from it.  
  
The boy held his palms outward to her. "Take it easy, I wasn't going to hurt you. I thought you were someone else." Her primal, anger driven mind screamed out to kill him, that he knew too much. Her newer self however, the one that made her come here to begin with told her to back off, let him go. She stared at his wide blue eyes. Light brown hair fell around his face, messed up during her attack. He flinched as she lifted her foot... and set it on the ground.  
  
The boy slowly opened his eyes and stopped cringing, getting to his feet. " I'm Bobby. You look vaguely familiar; have we met?"  
  
"Not really," re replied, taking a new seat, this one facing the door.  
  
"Oh my God! You're that girl who took us all out a couple months back! What are you doing here?"  
  
"I have my reasons. Calm down, I'm not going to do anything."  
  
"Well, that's a relief." He took a seat across from her. "So, you're related to Wolverine huh?"  
  
"In a matter of speaking."  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
X-23 stared at him. Her name? Did she even have one? No, they had never given her a name that she could recall, at least not a real one. She was always referred to as "the project" or "number 23". Eventually they just called her X-23, plain, simple, and unattached. "X-23", she told him.  
  
"That's not a name."  
  
"Sure it is."  
  
"No, its not. I'm looking for a name like...Beatrice or Sally."  
  
"I'm sorry if my name doesn't fit your standards," she quipped.  
  
"So I'm supposed to call you X-23. You know that's more of a code name. Could I call you something else if I wanted to?"  
  
"I suppose..."  
  
"How about canary?"  
  
"A useless bird? You want to name me after a dumb yellow bird?"  
  
"Well, you act kind of like a caged bird and that's the only bird I could think of besides a parrot that a person puts in a cage. And you are deffinately not a parrot, you don't talk enough." He looked at a covered dish on the table. "What do you suppose is under there?"  
  
X-23 sniffed the air. "Bacon."  
  
Bobby lifted the cover ever so slightly to glance underneath. "Sorry, its sausage."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Just kidding," he laughed.  
  
"I am not amused."  
  
A bamf accompanied the arrival of the blue furred demon on the far side of the table. Other mutants quickly filed in through the door as Ororo came back in with another two dishes piled with food. X-23's senses were going wild. It was so noisy, smells were everywhere, and hands came seemingly out of nowhere to grab steaming food. The thing that got her the most was no one seemed to notice she was there. Did she really look so much like this Amara person that they just assumed she belonged?  
  
"Quiet down everyone," Xavier's voice cut through the conversations to bring silence throughout the room. "now, I would like you all to meet our newest member. With any luck she will be staying with us for quite some time." A commotion broke out when they recognized who the new comer was. "Calm down, she's not here to harm you in any way. She's just here to get on her feet so to speak. She'll start training sessions with the other new recruits tomorrow."  
  
"What," X-23 asked. "I have been trained in combat since I could walk. There's nothing you could possibly teach me and I refuse to train with children."  
  
"You forget that you, yourself, are a child as well. Besides, there are other things you need to learn. Right now you know how to work by yourself, a lone wolf. You need to learn how to cooperate with a group. That is why you will be working with the new recruits. Trust that this is something you need to do."  
  
X-23 stared coldly at him. How dare he presume to know what she needed. She could barely tell herself what she needed, so how was this old man supposed to figure it out for her. "Fine," she spat.  
  
"Besides that we'll be catching you up on your lessons."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Oh, everything you may not have had the chance to learn before. The stuff that will get you into school and back into normal society. Math, Science, History and Literature."  
  
X-23 cocked her head quizzically. She had never really learned anything besides the basics of reading and then combat. The idea of learning something new intrigued her. "When do we start?" The whole table stared at her.  
  
"You want to go to school," Jubilee asked.  
  
"I want to learn", she replied.  
  
"We start this afternoon, as soon as you and Ororo return from your shopping excursion."  
  
"Shopping?"  
  
"Yes, we can't have you perpetually running around in Amara's clothes, they don't seem to really fit you anyways."  
  
"Professor," Roberto asked. "What are we supposed to call her?"  
  
"You can call her X-23 for now. Her codename you'll find out in the danger room tomorrow. When she picks a regular name for herself you can call her that. Oh, I almost forgot, we need to measure you for a uniform as well."  
  
"A uniform? But I already have battle gear."  
  
"I'm sure that was fine when you were out in the woods by yourself but now that you're here you need a uniform, an x-man uniform."  
  
************************************************************************ Another chapter bites the dust. Took me a while to type this up since I've been kinda busy. I'll try to get the next one out soon. Until next time, ~Shield-Maiden 


	4. shopping is an art

Disclaimer: Nope, I own nothing...that's a double negative; not acceptable in English, but very accepted and even normal in Spanish class.  
  
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X-23 stopped to glance into the hallway mirror. She looked...different, perhaps a bit softer, more feminine...weaker. Besides spending most of the day shopping Ororo had taken her to the hair salon for a much needed trim. "After all," Ororo had told her, "there's so many tangles in there I don't know if I could ever get them out myself; and you sure aren't going to." The hair dresser had found a most effective way of getting out the tangles, a scissors. The end result was that her hair had been layered to hide the fact that the majority of the snags had been cut out. She herself didn't really care but Ororo continued to reassure her that it looked fine, as if X-23 had some feeling towards the matter.  
  
Her clothes on the other hand had turned into a crusade. It had taken Ororo the better part of an hour explaining that she couldn't, or at least shouldn't, buy her clothes from the boys department despite the fact that in X-23's eyes they looked more practical than those in the juniors department. Their search for clothes had been a fruitful one. Despite X- 23's objections a skirt had been added to the mix as well, just in case she found that she enjoyed wearing clothing that restricted her from being violent.  
  
X-23 was now wearing was a pair of khakis, a plain green t-shirt, and white tennis shoes, the most basic outfit she could find. "I look like everyone else," she told the mirror.  
  
"Now, I wouldn't say like everyone else," a bright southern drawl told her. "For instance, you don't look at all like me." The person walked up beside her so he too was reflected in the mirror. "For one, I'm blond; two, I have blue eyes; and three...I'm a heck of a lot taller than a half pint like you. Not to mention I'm a boy." She turned to face him. "My name's Sam by the way, Sam Guthrie, in case you missed it during breakfast intros." He held out his hand. X-23 stared at it for a moment. "Well, go on and shake it. I won't stand like this all day to be a scarecrow for your amusement. Besides, I thing Ororo's got her garden pretty well guarded from varmints like that." Slowly, X-23 placed her hand in his, cautious like a wild animal. He clasped it and with a shake said, "Well, howdy do?"  
  
She stared at him, withdrawing her hand. "Fine," she told him.  
  
"Not much of a talker, are ya?"  
  
"Why should I be? Talking only distracts a person from their orders."  
  
"Distracting? Naw, it's just something to do while you watch the grass grow. Especially effective when trying to get to know a person."  
  
"And you want to get to know me."  
  
"Why, sure, you're living in this house same as the rest of us, no reason to be a stranger."  
  
"I suppose not."  
  
"See? Now, give me a smile to show you mean it." X-23 pulled back her lips into what would look to most like a grimace of pain. Sam only smiled back, nonplused, seemingly unaware of how unnatural it looked on her face. "That's it. I gotta get going, Logan'll kill me if I'm late to Danger Room. See ya."  
  
X-23 watched him go, allowing her lips to once more go back to an emotionless mask. People sure were strange here. What did it matter if she smiled or frowned? It was nothing more than baring one's teeth at another person...wasn't it?  
  
She made her way to the Professor's study. They were supposed to determine how much she had to learn in order to attend regular school. 'He seriously thinks I'll be around long enough to attend regular school,' X-23 thought to herself. She stopped outside the door when she heard voices from within accompanied by the rustling of clothing.  
  
"I just don't understand, Professor. She comes in here claiming to want help but just a few months ago she was ready to murder us all in our sleep."  
  
"Scott, I realize your reservations but I don't sense anything in her mind pointing toward the desire to do us harm. I firmly believe that she's here to make something of herself. Wolverine, after all, wasn't really all that tame when he came here at first but he's made a real adjustment to society."  
  
"But, Professor, how do you know she isn't blocking you? She did manage to take you by surprise the last time."  
  
"What purpose would it serve?"  
  
"I don't know...I just don't trust her."  
  
X-23 bristled at the comment. Did she really come off as someone not worth trusting? Scary? Realizing she was eavesdropping she took a few steps away from the door. Scott burst out of the room. Upon seeing her he stopped dead in his tracks. She refused to say anything to him, refused to let him know for sure that she had heard him as she stared at him. More rustling of clothing alerted her to another coming out of the room. X-23 turned her head to see Jean exiting the room as well. 'Knew I smelled two,' she thought to herself.  
  
"Oh," Jean exclaimed, "Did we keep you waiting?"  
  
"No," she lied. "I just got here." X-23 could feel a small presence in her mind, probing for signs of a lie. She quickly shut off her mind to the intruder and watched the surprise on the telepath's face. "If you don't mind," she excused herself, entering the study with her mind not on learning but on discovering just what everyone really thought of her presence at the Institute.  
  
*********************************************************************** That's the end of the chappie, hope you liked it. Any ideas as to what X- 23's normal name should be, 'cause I don't have a clue but I think its something she should have. Tell me in a review if you got any ideas. See ya! 


	5. I'm a lady, that's why

Disclaimer: I regret to inform you that I do not own X-men Evolution, sorry for any preconceptions of ownership you might have had before I dashed those beliefs upon the rocks.  
  
Yup, I had to up the rating to PG-13 because of my choice to use some questionable language if you get my drift. Anyways, sorry I haven't updated in so long but I had a bunch of papers to write for my classes. I have now graduated and am on summer vacation so with any luck I'll be updating much more frequently. Enough of my yammering, on with the story.

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"Rise and shine," Logan's gruff voice announced as he knocked on her door. X-23 sprang to attention at once, claws at ready. Would she ever stop doing that; or would she be doomed forever to live all alone lest she accidentally stab her unknowing counterpart?  
  
She opened the door. "What is it?"  
  
"Danger Room, put on your uniform and I'll show you down there."  
  
X-23 took out the black one-piece out of her drawer along with belt and gloves, the matching yellow boots were in the closet. She looked at herself in the mirror as she cinched the belt buckle. Standing there in stocking feet and bare hands she certainly didn't look like anything special. She examined the boots. Nothing special, certainly nothing to accommodate her foot claws. She set the boots back down. Puncture a hole in those and the next time it got wet out they'd be squishy and uncomfortable. She instead slipped on her own black boots, fully equipped with a flap of sorts to cover the hole. The gloves she left on the nightstand; it would be a shame to poke a couple of holes through them, eventually shredding them beyond repair.  
  
She had never really liked gloves anyways. They never fit exactly right and whenever she gripped something for an upward clime they seemed to shift. The only thing they were good for was keeping her hands warm, and she refused to acknowlege that they ever got cold in the first place.  
  
Wolverine gave her the head to toe inspection when she emerged. "What," she snapped.  
  
"Missing something?" He indicated her hands and shoed feet.  
  
"No one said I had to wear that hideous shade of yellow." X-23 could have clamped her hands over her mouth like a silly school girl but she refrained. Where had that come from? That was something she had never imagined could come out of her mouth.  
  
"No, I guess they never said you had to wear the accessories." She mentally marked the path to the Danger Room as they passed many a door that all looked exactly the same. Upon reaching the D.R. X-23 found it to be occupied by a bunch of rowdy new recruits. "Pipe down," Logan barked, receiving the desired effect of utter silence. "Now, this morning we're doing a maze scenario which ends when you reach the door. You'll be working in pairs."  
  
"Hey, where's Jaimie," Jubilee asked. "Did someone wake him up this morning?"  
  
"Don't worry about him. He's a team in himself so we gave him the morning session off, besides, then we'd have an odd number of people. Now, the pairs are Cannonball and Wolvesbane, Sunspot and Magma, Jubilee and Berzerker, and ,Iceman, you'll be working with Isis here."  
  
"You mean canary?" Wolverine gave Iceman a quizzical look. "Fine, Isis it is."  
  
"Right, now the barriers will go up as soon as I get into the control room. Don't forget to watch out for obstacles."  
  
"Uh, Mr. Logan," Rahne piped up, "What if we don't make it out before breakfast?"  
  
"Don't worry, you'll make it out before then, and even if you don't Charles said I couldn't keep you from breakfast. Something about it being the most important meal of the day. Oh, I almost forgot," he tossed each pair what looked like refined handcuffs, "One hand goes in from each partner, keeps you together so no one can pull a maverick," he looked directly at Bobby and then X-23. "Well, let's get started."  
  
X-23 stared at the shackles in her hands, lost in her own world of thought she wasn't even sure what she was thinking herself. "Isis...canary? Can we start any time soon?" She snapped her head up. "What," she started and then noticed the barriers were up, game time.  
  
"I don't like this anymore than you do," he told her, offering her his wrist, "but if we don't Logan will nail us. Well, come on, everyone's got a head start on us and I want to be the first to breakfast."  
  
"Fine," she snapped, accenting her answer with the snap of cold metal on their wrist, "Let's go." She turned right only to find a sudden jerk on her left wrist. X-23 turned to find Iceman rooted to the spot. "What?"  
  
"We should go left, that's the right way."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"That's the way everyone else went and they haven't back tracked yet to go the other way."  
  
"Maybe its because they're lost," she growled.  
  
"And maybe its because they're already eating breakfast."  
  
"You and your stomach. Trust my nose ice-dick, there's nothing but trouble that way."  
  
"Such language from a lady," Bobby quipped.  
  
"But I'm not a lady," she told him before jerking him to the right. "And if I have to I'll drag your sorry ass through this maze without your help."  
  
"Fine, but if you're wrong about this..."  
  
"I'm not."  
  
The next couple of turns were made with little grumbling from either side until one lead them to a pit blocking their path. "I told you we should have went the other way," Bobby yelled.  
  
"Fine, we'll just go back the other..." a second pit had opened up behind them. "Might as well go forward, we're jumping either way."  
  
"Jumping? No thank you, I choose life."  
  
"What, you're just going to sit her until the Professor tells Logan to let us out?"  
  
"Basically."  
  
"Is that because you're too lazy to use your powers to build a bridge?"  
  
"With all the snotty comments that come out of you, yes. Yes, I'm too lazy to help you."  
  
"You're not even going to try?"  
  
"Nope."  
  
"Fine, I no longer care what you think." She quickly grabbed him and slung him over her back. "I'm jumping and you're coming along for the ride." She backed up a few paces before taking a running leap.  
  
"Ahhhhhhhh, I'm gonna die," Bobby yelled before producing an ice ramp down to the opposite side, sliding them down on their butts.  
  
"I thought you said you weren't going to use your powers to help me."  
  
"I wasn't helping you, I was helping myself."  
  
"Sure you were, let's go."  
  
A long succession of turns and booby traps later...  
  
"Is that the exit," Bobby asked.  
  
"Looks like it," X-23 told him. "Now you can go and eat your precious little breakfast and stop whining."  
  
"Like you aren't hungry."  
  
"I'm not." But her stomach soon belied its own feelings on the matter as it let out a growl.  
  
"Sure you aren't. Let's go." Through the door they went only to find Logan waiting right on the other side.  
  
"I was just about to turn it off, everyone else made it through a while ago."  
  
"See, I told you we should have went the other way."  
  
"Actually, what kept you back was that you were constantly arguing." Logan unlocked the cuffs. "If it weren't for these I'm sure you two would have split and try to go it alone. You both have problems taking orders from other people; that's why I paired you up, figured it would be enlightening. Now go get some breakfast before the others eat it all."  
  
"Yes, sir," Bobby responded. X-23 followed his sulking form down the hall. What was he so upset about? They had finished the task set before them. Next time would be better, fewer mistakes would be made. That's what he needed to learn, how to stop complaining and do what was required of him because she certainly didn't have a problem with how she went about things. She'd been trained since she could walk, so how could anything she had learned be flawed when it always worked to her advantage? X-23 shook her head to clear it. Too much questioning of beliefs was a barrier between her and the training, something everyone else seemed unaware of. 


	6. Chickens can dance?

Disclaimer: I own nothing, at least, I don't own the people in here, the storyline is completely my doing, can you tell?  
  
Well, here's the next chapter. Just so you know it's a bit "fluffy" I guess might be the word, nothing much happens to propel the plot along, just a bit of socializing. Before I start chattering like a squirrel, here it is.  
  
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X-23 sat in Xavier's study, Jamie sat to her left troubling over some math problem while she stared at words on a page, something about a revolt of some sort but she didn't particularly care at the moment. Reading about the past, to her, was as pointless a reliving all of her training sessions. Why bother her brain puzzling over why these people did what they did, it didn't affect her. She peered over at Jamie's mass of numbers scribbled on the page. 'That', she thought, "makes even less sense.' The Professor told her they would eventually work on her math skills but it too seemed like a hopeless task.  
  
"They're home," she told Jamie. Their reprieve from the boredom of bookwork had come to the tune of clopping shoes on the stairs. She snapped her book closed and set it back on the shelf.  
  
Like all of the other students she was now free to do as she liked. But what was it she wanted to do? Her life had revolved around training sessions, not leisure time. After walking around the Institute grounds for a few hours she found herself exploring the inside, eventually coming to a halt outside the Danger Room. She listened for the sound of people within. Nothing.  
  
With the push of a button the door opened and X-23 walked inside. She realized she didn't have her training clothes with her and shrugged it off. She was curious as to what kind of punishment her new clothes would take. And besides, she wasn't going to overexert herself, just a short session to see what she could do.  
  
X-23 dodged blasters left and right, leaping above the short barriers and landing on top, constantly moving without a moments rest when suddenly it all shut down, depositing a confused X-23 onto the floor. The cause of the disturbance was standing in the doorway. The Asian girl with the yellow coat, Jubilee, looked just as confused as X-23 did. "What are you doing in here? We already had our DR session today," Jubilee told her.  
  
"I was testing out my new clothes."  
  
Jubilee looked at the now damp and singed clothes. "Apparently. Don't you do anything but train?"  
  
"I...don't know what else I should be doing."  
  
"Well, tell ya what. You go shower and change. I'll meet you outside your room in about 45 minutes and then introduce you to some of the things we do for fun. The lessons shall continue throughout this weekend because you have got to get a life, okay?"  
  
"Sure." What was wrong with the training sessions if they kept her busy? Kept her mind off of anything that bothered her? When she trained she lived in the moment, no distractions or she'd get clobbered. What other activity could do that?  
  
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"May I present, DDR Max," Jubilee announced, motioning to the current scene in the rec room. All the new recruits lounged on the seating arrangement near the screen chatting and watching the two occupants of the mats set out in front of the TV.  
  
"Roberto, ye look like a strutting chicken," Rhane laughed, watching him disjointedly stomp on the game pad. Next to him, Ray was quickly skittering around his with great ease, seeming to almost tap dance.  
  
"What exactly is DDR Max," X-23 questioned.  
  
"A video game, but unconventional since you use the pads instead of controllers. Ray bought it about a month ago when he got tired of paying money at the arcade. Since then, every Friday we've been playing it. It's funny since the amount of energy you spend playing probably adds up to another DR session."  
  
"And DDR stands for what? Department of Defense..."  
  
"No, no, no," Jubilee giggled, "Dance Dance Revolution, although some people look more like strutting chickens. You wanna have a go after they're done?"  
  
"Not particularly."  
  
"Oh, come on, it'll be fun. Hey, Ray!"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Isis and me are going next so you'll have to get your obsessed ass off."  
  
"Fine," he replied, not taking his eyes off the screen and finishing up the song.  
  
"You just put your foot on the corresponding arrows when the scrolling ones hit the top of the screen," Jubilee explained, pulling her onto a mat. "Your screen is on the right, okay?" X-23 nodded. "Okay, this is one of the easiest ones, so it goes nice and slow."  
  
The strange music once again filled the room and the arrows began to scroll up the screen. "Came in from a rainy Thursday, on the avenue," Jubilee sang, easily switching her feet on the pad. X-23 kept glancing back down at her feet, checking where they belonged. She faltered whenever it appeared she had misses one. The game threw out phrases of encouragement when she got 3 steps perfect in a row.  
  
"Very nice," Ray said, as the song finished. "Not bad for your first time, you just need some practice. Who's next up?"  
  
"Me! Me!" Jamie jumped in his seat.  
  
X-23 moved from her pad to allow the boy through when Ray imperiously pointed at her, "Not you," he proclaimed.  
  
"Huh?" X-23 stared at him.  
  
"You stay on for another 2 rounds so you get the hang of it. Jubes, off."  
  
"Aww man," Jubilee sulked. Jamie quickly hopped over to the newly occupied pad and proceeded to scroll through the song menu. "I so rock at this," he said, upping the difficulty on his side and selecting the song.  
  
"What have I done to deserve this," X-23 asked, before once again descending into dance-step hell.  
  
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X-23 was surprised at herself as she helped to put the game away. Not only had she started to enjoy the crazy game but had verbally fought for her turn. Jubilee poked her in the side, causing her to jump, "Hey, Isis, don't forget you promised to leave your weekend plans to me."  
  
"I won't forget."  
  
"Good, 'cause tomorrow we're going to the movies and then to the mall."  
  
"I have already acquired the necessary attire to blend in with the crowd."  
  
Jubilee laughed, "Well, sure we'll browse the shops but the main idea is to possibly hunt down guys. You'll see; it'll be fun."  
  
"Somehow, I doubt that," X-23 remarked. 


	7. You smell

Disclaimer: I still don't own X-men Evolution, which is sad because I could really use some extra cash about now.

Author's note: Sorry I haven't updated this in forever, but I was completely at a loss for how the story should progress. Now my muse has dumped some ideas on me but I'm juggling a couple other stories at the same time. Such is life I guess.

* * *

"Gee, she looks like her puppy just died," Amara remarked, studying X-23's sullen features.

"I don't have a puppy," X-23 responded.

"See? She's having loads of fun," Jubilee told her.

X-23 gave her a forlorn look. "This is your kind of fun, not mine."

"Oh...you know what you need?"

"A boy?"X-23 asked.

"Well, that...and something to eat. Let's stop for lunch. Everyone okay with that?" Nods of agreement were all that was needed for Jubilee to grab X-23's hand and drag her through the mall once more.

Pizza, soda, and breadsticks were all that were needed to bring back some liveliness to the huntress's once pallid face. Food was good, no doubt about it. X-23 barely caught a whiff of a familiar scent before the voice confirmed it. "Um, guys," Kitty broke in, "code red. You can get home by yourselves, right?" Nods came from Jubilee, Amara, and Rahne. X-23 stared in wonder as Kitty thanked them and hurried off as quickly as she had arrived.

"Code red," X-23 questioned, looking toward the direction Kitty had hurried off to.

"Basically it means she'll be back when she's good and ready. Social crisis. If she's not back by dinner we're supposed to say she's studying at the library."

"It happens often enough it has a code?"

Rahne studied her for a moment. "Since she's gotten her license? Yes. Or do you mean in general? Combined or just Kitty?"

"Forget I asked," X-23 replied.

* * *

Kitty wasn't at dinner but no one seemed opposed to lying to the professor. X-23 could smell the anxiety associated with the lies told to the telepath. She was positive Logan could smell them as well but the Professor seemed blissfully unaware, which X-23 found odd. A telepath should know when he's lied to.

Her companions explained his moral code in regards to reading minds when she later questioned them on it. It didn't make sense to her. If he was gifted why should he stop himself from using it? She couldn't turn off her sense of smell or gifted hearing so why would he choose to cripple himself more than he already was?

X-23 trudged up to her room after an evening of movies and popcorn. Kitty still had yet to appear and X-23 was beginning to feel...guilty? She wasn't sure that was it. A knot had begun to form in the pit of her stomach but she had a hard time believing that was guilt. Quite frankly she had a similar feeling when eating something that didn't agree with her. She chose not to think any more about it and crawled into bed. After all, she was here to cure herself of petty emotions, not to gain more.

Sleep did not come easy, her mind refused to let her worry about Kitty's whereabouts go. At the sound of a creaky stair X-23 leapt to attention, claws unsheathed she crept to the door. She could smell the intruder. She leapt into the hall.

"Ahhh," Kitty let go a small scream before clamping her hands over her mouth.

"You're out late," X-23 informed her.

"Isis, you scared me. Don't do that again, okay?"

X-23 took another whiff of air. "You smell different."

"How could I possibly smell different?"

Sniff, sniff, "you were with a guy...a big one."

"I met Piotr at the mall. We caught a movie."

"I can smell him all over you."

"Can we please discuss this later, Isis," Kitty hissed. "When are you going to get a real name, anyways?"

"You're changing the subject," the smaller girl replied. "And why don't we discuss this now?"

"Fine," Kitty ducked into X-23's room. X-23 bristled at the invasion but decided that if she got some answers it would be worth it. X-23 closed the door behind her upon entering and watched as Kitty paced the room.

X-23 studied her for a moment before speaking. "Are we going to talk?"

"Of course," Kitty snapped. "It's just...oh, I can't stand living here sometimes. You're all so damn nosy."

"Go on," X-23 commanded. "Explain why you're sneaking back in so late, why we all had to lie to cover your absence and why you smell like this...Piotr person. I can tell you right now you didn't just sit near each other, there was contact. Probably some of that lip-touching nonsense I see all over the place."

"You mean kissing. And yes, if you must know Piotr and I did share a kiss."

"More than one," X-23 circled her, sniffing. "Like I said before, I smell him all over you. Is this a frequent thing?"

"Is what a frequent thing?"

"This sneaking out with this guy. I'm amazed Wolverine hasn't questioned you about it...or are you normally so quiet you don't think he hears you and quickly shower to wash the stink off you."

"Isis, you're making me feel uncomfortable. Would you stop looking at me like a hungry wolf?" X-23 continued to stare. "You know what? I don't have to justify my actions, least of all to you."

"Then why are you?"

The question caught Kitty off guard. She sat down on the bed to think for a moment. X-23 grimaced. Now her bed would reek of people. It hadn't mattered that Ororo's feint scent had been left on the sheets when the bed was made but now Kitty's as well as her secret...friend would be there as well. X-23 would have to talk to Ororo about washing the comforter.

"You have to swear on your mother's grave you won't breathe a word of this to anyone," Kitty told her.

"I don't have a mother," X-23 whispered, "not even a dead one...not really." This thought made something catch in her throat. Was this regret? Sadness? She pushed the feelings aside. The sooner she got rid of them the sooner she could leave. Kitty gave a look that X-23 could only assume was one of exasperation. "I promise on my stolen blood," X-23 told her.

"Your blood isn't stolen," Kitty told her, "but I appreciate the idea." She took a deep breath. "Piotr and I are dating..." Kitty noticed the confused look on X-23's face. "Like Scott and Jean," she offered, glad when X-23 nodded her understanding. "The problem is...well, there's a lot of problems, not least of all the fact that he's 19 and I'm still a minor...it's against the law for us to date. And then there's the whole 'used-to-work-for-Magneto' thing. Nobody knows about this except you. I don't plan on telling anyone else."

"Neither do I," X-23 told her. "Word of advice though. Stay away from Wolverine's room before you wash. I guarantee he can smell you too; he's just trying to pretend he doesn't. Keep the smell away and he'll think the problem has gone away."

"Thanks", Kitty told her, a little weirded out by X-23's frankness and suggestion. X-23 ventured a smile. Kitty quietly giggled. "You might want to work on that smile of yours, because it looks like a dog bearing its teeth. Not too friendly. She then phased out the door and tiptoed down the hall.

_I now have a secret_, X-23 mused. _Quite a promise to keep but I think I can handle it._ She slipped back into bed wondering why she had even been curious about what Kitty had been doing. What other surprises could be in store for her as life became more complicated than she could have ever imagined?


End file.
